


Still My Heart Or It Might Burst

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Disney World, F/M, Humanstuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-29
Updated: 2012-07-29
Packaged: 2017-11-11 00:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/472411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It seemed like Kanaya has spent her whole life pining after Vriska. She thinks it’s inevitable that she’ll end up like Eridan. Dirk comes along and teaches her otherwise. Turns out she’s not as alone as she thought she was.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still My Heart Or It Might Burst

**Author's Note:**

> If you see any mistake please point them out so I can fix them.

It’s hard being in love with your completely heterosexual best friend and growing up. It’s hard, and no one seems to understand.

Just thinking that made Kanaya wince a little as she tuned out Vriska’s ramblings about new guy she met. The voice in her head sounded a bit too much like Eridan for her taste. He was a good friend of hers, but the last thing she wanted was to end up like him. One of her worst fears was that her infatuation with Vriska would never leave her and their friendship would end up like that of Feferi and Eridans’. Unfortunately her less than platonic feelings are very persistent. She was constantly afraid one day she would slip up and ruin their friendship forever.

Despite this, she thought she was handling Vriska’s new crush much better than most people in her situation would. Others would probably break down and scream “How the hell did you get over John so fast when I’ve been hung up on you for fucking years?” But Kanaya was much too classy for such an outburst. Instead she balled her skirt up in her fists discreetly, while smiling widely and trying to hold back tears. That was definitely a much better, healthier response.

Words could not describe how grateful she was when Vriska’s mother yelled from downstairs that she forgot to take out the garbage. They engaged in a short shouting match before the blonde mumbled that she’d be right back. Kanaya took quick advantage of the time alone and let out a dry, quiet sob. She had already shed many tears for Vriska; she refused to cry anymore. She couldn’t help the sounds that built up in her throat though. When she was alone, after the trying task of pretending to be fine, the mangled noises of unsaid words were released. Her Grandmother was kind enough not to try and talk about it, she just rubbed Kanaya’s hair and told it her eventually it would be all right.

After she gets herself composed again, outside and inside this time, she decided that she had heard enough about Jake “Even hotter than Nic Cage!!!!!!!!” English.

Vriska started whining when Kanaya announced it was time for her to go home. The darker girl smiled down at her, amused, and mussed up her already messy hair. “We’ll see each other again tomorrow. There is no need for you to act as if a millennium will pass before we next meet.” Vriska shoved Kanaya playfully.

“Whateveeeeeeeer, fussy fangs! Excuse me for wanting to hang out with my best friend for more than two seconds.”

“I’ll never understand why you insist on labeling with me with that ridiculous nickname which has little to no relevance to my character. I am not fussy, nor do I have fangs.” Vriska looked at her like she was an oblivious idiot.

“Um, hate to break it to you but, that fits your description to a T. All you do is fuss over stuff, and your canines are the sharpest things on this side of the planet. Seriously, if you weren’t black as night I would think you were a vampire.” Kanaya opened her mouth and pressed a finger aforementioned tooth. It was rather sharp. “Hey, maybe reading all those vampire books made you into a vamp.” Then she curled her fingers so they looked like claws, bared her teeth, and started hissing. “I am a vampire and I’m going to suck your blood!” she said with a stereotypical “vampire accent”. Kanaya giggled a bit, and then petted her head.

“You’re a lovely vampire, Vriska, and as much as I would enjoy continuing to view this display of pure horror and vampirism, I must be heading home. Gramma will get worried if I’m gone for too long.” Vriska pouted a little then started shoving her out the door.

“Fine! It’s not like I have important girl stuff to tell you or anything! Go ahead, go home, and be laaaaaaaame.” Kanaya let herself be pushed, smiling all the way. When she was finally outside of Vriska’s house she gave the blonde a quick hug then started walking home. Their houses were very close together, so she didn’t have to walk very far.

Her grandmother was cooking dinner when she walked into her house. Legally the woman was Kanaya’s mother, she found Kanaya dumped somewhere in a shady neighborhood, but she thought she was too old to be a mother and insisted on being called a grandmother. “How was your time at Vriska’s?” she asked. Kanaya sighed.

“The same as always.” She sat down at the kitchen table and put her face in her arms. “Grandmother, why must everything be so difficult? Why can’t she just like me back and that’s that?” Her grandmother shrugged her shoulders, not taking her eyes off the food.

“It might do you well to try and go after some other dame.” She suggested. Her Grandmother, for the most part, knew about Kanaya’s crush and kept trying to push her to pursue someone who wouldn’t break her heart. It wasn’t that easy though. She had tried a short fling with Rose, but they worked better as just good friends, so they broke it off. There was also a time when she dated Aradia Megido, but then she moved away and was never heard from again.

While Kanaya was wondering if there were any other dating options, she got a text from Vriska that read “Tomorrow after school we’re going to hang out at the mall. You owe me! ::::)” Kanaya smiled at her phone then put her it away and tried not to think about Vriska anymore. They would be fine, as long as she kept her feelings in check.

_

All of Kanaya’s classes seemed to drag on for hours. Everything was incredibly easy to her, but for some reason no one else was able to understand. The teacher had to stop near constantly to answer questions, even though it was just Home Ec. Is it really that hard to bake a pie?

Her second class wasn’t too bad though. She at least had Rose to keep her company. For the most part she just sat in the back with the blond and discussed topics more interesting than whatever the teacher was explaining for the fifth time.

“So, how have you and John been?” She asked politely even though she didn’t really care. “I would say that I’ll never understand why you choose to date an ignoramus like him, when there are so many more fitting suitors practically lining up at your doorstep. And that you deserve someone who at least has an inkling of common sense residing somewhere in the crevices of what they might dare call a brain, but that would be rude, so I’ll refrain.” Rose chuckled softly and rested her cheek on her hand, looking Kanaya in the eye.

“I thought you promised to stop bad mouthing John, since he is my boyfriend and all. Besides, isn’t Vriska over him? Doesn’t that mean your petty, one-sided Rivalry is over?” Kanaya looked at Rose with her face twisted in disdain.

“I wish it were that simple. No, I genuinely dislike him.” Rose laughed at her again, making Kanaya lip curl down.

 

“I imagine you would also dislike his cousin then. I think you might have heard of him before. He goes by the name ‘Jake English’.” Kanaya felt her blood run cold. Rose’s smirk dropped when she noticed the change in her friend’s demeanor. “Oh dear, I think John might have rubbed off on me a bit too much. That was mean of me, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so inconsiderate of your feelings.”

Kanaya cleared her throat softly, and then tried to put on a nice, big, fake smile for Rose. “It’s alright.” She said, hoping the strain in her voice wasn’t too noticeable. “Actually I’m well on my way to ridding myself of all romantic feelings I hold for Vriska. In my opinion I’m doing very well. I’ve already started scoping out other options. I even have a slight crush on someone new.” Rose raised a skeptical eyebrow and resting her chin on the back of her hand.

“Oh really? Do tell.” She asked. It was easy to hear how much she doubted Kanaya.

“I will tell. I’ve decided to move my romantic endeavors onto…”she did a quick sweep of the room with her eyes. They were immediately drawn to a shock of blond hair protruding from a sea of heads. “The blond one over there.” She whispered pointing her thumb in their direction. Rose’s eyes widened. She looked on Kanaya with complete shock.

“Oh! Dirk? Dirk Strider? What an unusual choice. I was under the impression you were a lesbian.”

“I don’t know what would make you assume that, I’ve always been open to those of the other sex and Dirt seems to be an acceptable gentleman.” Rose blinked in confusion then started laughing. She had to press her lips together tight to control it so they didn’t get called out for not paying attention.

“Wait, did you just call him Dirt? You don’t even know his name, yet you’ve decided to go straight for him? I can’t believe I almost fell for that.” Kanaya pursed her lips.

“What are you talking about? I can’t believe you would suggest that my feelings for him are nothing more a ruse I threw together in a second so that you would stop pitying me and my unrequited love for Vriska. That’s ridiculous.” Rose sighed and smiled sadly.

“Kanaya, don’t say that. That is not what I am doing. If you want, I will believe in your little crush on Dirk. He actually is your type, intelligent, confident, and blond. Just how you like them.” Rose mentioned that last part with an eyebrow wiggle. Kanaya’s face heated up. It was a total coincidence that most of her crushes happened to be blond.

The teacher called the two girls out for not paying attention. Both of them faced the board like the dutiful students they were, and only whispered when they were sure the teacher wasn’t looking, or if they finished all the work the teacher handed out. Kanaya was so thankful she made friends with Rose. She didn’t know how she would survive being surrounded by idiots otherwise.

At lunch she sat down at her normal table, next to Vriska who was grinning. But that grin wasn’t directed at her. Vriska was staring over her shoulder and waving. “Hey Jake!” she shouted. “Come sit with us.” Kanaya turned and saw a boy who did look similar to John. Only he was bigger, and more tanned. Walking next to him was a tall boy wearing pointy shades. Kanaya recognized him as the boy she had a ‘crush’ on. His name was Dirt, or something, right?

The two boys sat in front of them. Immediately Vriska and Jake got into a deep discussion about who knows what. Kanaya looked at the two of them for a minute, and almost tried to join in, but decided not to since it would only end in her making fool of herself. She glanced at Dirk. He didn’t seem quite as lost as her, but the only thing he had to contribute was criticizing jabs at their favorite actors.

She tried not to seem too awkward as she pulled out her bagged lunch and started going through it. Her appetite had kind of left her when Jake came over though, so she was left just staring at a jelly sandwich, trying to decide whether or not to choke it down.

Across from her Dirk started drumming his fingers while watching Vriska and Jake interact. Kanaya looked up when she heard the noise. She accidently started studying his face. Her eyes narrowed a bit in confusion. He looked really familiar for some reason. It wasn’t even the kind of familiar that comes from seeing someone around school a lot. It was more he resembled someone she knew… Then it hit her.

“Pardon me Dirt, I hate to interrupt your most likely meaningful thoughts and ponderings but I find myself doing so anyway. The thing is your appearance brings forth a very vague picture of someone who I am sure I think I am closely acquainted with, but I am failing to place a name on said picture. I was hoping you would be so kind as to enlighten me to who said person might be by telling me you something about your family. For instance your last name, or if you have any siblings?” His face was blank. Kanaya couldn’t tell if he was looking at her or not due to his shades. It unnerved her more than it did when she talked to Dave, but that was probably because he and she were already good friends.

The silence got to be so awkward that even Vriska and Jake seemed to sense it and stopped talking. Kanaya was about to open her mouth and start rambling again when Dirk cut her off.

"Did you just call me dirt?" he asked. Kanaya couldn’t tell whether or not he was actually offended. His face was blank, and so was the tone of his voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to. I was hoping you wouldn’t hear that, to be honest. We were never properly introduced, but I’ve heard of you and- " Dirk cut her off before she could embarrass herself further by taking her hand and shaking it.

"The name is Dirk. Like the dagger. It’s got a K tacked on to the end, not a T." Kanaya nodded understandably and returned the handshake before taking her hand back. “Wow, that’s quite a grip you’ve got there.” He complimented.

“Thank you. I’m glad you find the strength of my grip to be satisfactory. My name is Kanaya Maryam, by the way. Would you mind answering my earlier question by revealing your surname as well?” she asked, wanting to verify her hunch. At this point Vriska and Jake returned to their own, separate conversation.

“Strider.” Kanaya’s face lit up.

"So am I correct in assuming you are directly related to a Dave Strider?" She couldn’t help the bit of smugness that crept into her voice.

"Yes, that assumption is correct. Dave is my little bro. Are you a friend of his?” Kanaya nodded.

"You could say that. Hmm, now that I think of it I do recall Dave mentioning his older brother who is the master of “irony” and everything “cool”. I put air quotes around those words to show that I am not quite sure what they are supposed mean in the context that Dave was putting them. I am, however, sure that Dave misuses the word irony at least 50% of the time.” Dirk snorted.

"I know what you mean. He's a good kid, and I love him, but sometimes he just doesn’t understand what irony really is. I’ve tried to teach him, but he just isn’t getting it." he leaned in close like he was about to tell a secret. "You see, the REAL way to use irony, as a form of comedy at least, is to make sure there are so many levels and layers of sincerity and insincerity that not even the best fucking mathematician could count how many there are. There’s no formula that could be conjured up to get an accurate number.” Kanaya wasn’t sure if what he said should be thought of as stupid or funny. She chose to accept it as both.

Feeling rather adventurous, Kanaya decided to play along with his game. She leaned in close and asked quietly, "Could you at least give me an estimate of how many metaphorical levels there must be?"

With a completely straight face he moved so his lips were right next to her ear. He was silent for a second then in his most serious voice he whispered. "Over nine thousand." Neither of them spoke then smiles slowly broke out on both their faces. Kanaya put a dainty hand over her mouth to try to keep in her giggles. When she couldn’t calm them, Dirk started laughing along with her.

"Egads Strider, you’ve just met the lady and you’re already putting the moves on her. Slow down man.” Jake joked looking at Dirk, then looking at Kanaya and back to Dirk again. Dirk waved his hand in dismissal.

“You’re one to talk English.” He turned to Kanaya and pointed a thumb at Jake. “I’m pretty sure his exact words, when he first saw Miss Spider, were ‘I’ve think I just found true love.’” Jake made some sort of chokes noise swinging his arms around wildly. He couldn’t decide between yelling at Dirk for telling her, and assuring Vriska that he did not say that. Vriska laughed and took his hand, calming him down.

“That’s too bad. I wouldn’t mind being your true love. It sounds kind of cute, actually.” She said which caused a pang of pain in Kanaya’s heart. Then Jake blushed and said ‘Really?’ Suddenly nothing seemed funny anymore. Kanaya turned her head away and tried to ignore the lovey dovey conversation going on next to her.

Even though her sandwich was pure jelly it felt kind of dry in her mouth. She watched as Dirk idly played with the peeling of his orange. She tried to think of a way to start up conversation again. She hoped he didn’t think she was being rude by not talking to him. Then again, he wasn’t talking to her either.

The rest of lunch passed by slowly. When the bell rang she walked briskly away from the table, trying not to break out into a run. ‘You’re stronger than this Kanaya.’ She thought over and over again. In her next class her, Eridan, and Karkat spent the whole time talking about the incident.

Kanaya wasn’t sure if she still wanted to hang out with Vriska at the mall after school, but Vriska didn’t actually give her a choice. She showed up at her house in her car then shoved Kanaya in the passenger seat before driving away from her house, laughing like a maniac. Kanaya just sighed and accepted her fate.

The ride to the mall was only 15 minutes. The entire time Vriska sang along with the radio at the top of her lungs. Kanaya rubbed her temples and hoped that they could get out of the car soon. Vriska was the most atrocious driver she had ever seen.

At the mall they walked around for an hour, doing nothing but window shopping, eating food, and talking about stuff. For a second Kanaya thought as long as she got time like this she could be happy with their relationship. But then everything changed when they spotted Jake English with his friend Dirk. Vriska and Jake locked eyes and Kanaya could almost see the sparks fly between them. It was heart wrenching in so many ways. On one hand, as a friend, she was happy for Vriska; on the other hand she wished she could keep Vriska for herself.

The two ran up to meet each other. Kanaya followed her, slowly. She didn’t even pretend to listen to their conversation about how it was “such a coincidence” they met up. Instead she chose to stare into space and wonder why she kept going along with this. Why didn’t she just break it off and save herself the heart break?

“We meet again, Maryam.” Dirk was suddenly right next to her. She turned to face him calmly and saw his lips turn down a bit. “How boring, you didn’t react at all. But I wasn’t really expecting to get a rise out of you in the first place, so I guess I can forgive your apathy towards my ninja skills.”

“I don’t really care whether or not you forgive me for my inability to satisfy your hunger for amusing reactions that comes off as stupid, yet endearing. Those types of antics are more Dave’s territory. Go sneak up on him if you wish to entertain yourself with such juvenile pranks.” Dirk shook his head and put his hands in his pockets.

“Nah, I think I’ll stay here and talk to you. I’m sure you can provide me with more stimulating conversation than that asshole can. Plus I appreciate how straight forward you are. It’s a nice change from dealing with Rose and Dave. A man can only endure so much sarcasm and irony before he wants to talk to someone who doesn’t play mind games.” For a moment his eyes flicked to Jake, who was walking away with Vriska, before locking eyes with Kanaya again. “So, do you want to ditch those fuckwads and do something that doesn’t involve watching your crush mack on some person they just fucking met.” Kanaya’s eyes widened, in surprise.

“How on earth did you find out about my crush on Vriska after only knowing me for less than a day?” Rose, Eridan, Karkat, and her grandmother were the only people who knew, and they would never reveal her secret to anyone outside that circle.

“Because I…uh, nevermind. How about we pretend that was not a thing I ever said, hm?” Kanaya was confused, but agreed anyway. “Wonderful. Now, back to my earlier suggestion, let’s ditch these guys.”

“But Vriska was the one to drive me here, and I’m sure she won’t hesitate to leave if I am not present when she decides to depart.” Dirk waved his hand in dismissal then put his arm around her shoulder and started to turn her away from them. She was glad because it made it easier to pretend Jake and Vriska weren’t laughing and holding hands.

“Don’t worry. I’ll drop you off at home if Vriska won’t. Seriously, let’s just get the fuck out of here.” He said. He started walking faster, Kanaya matched his pace easily.

At first they were walking side by side, but then Kanaya accidently started to go ahead of Dirk. When he saw that, he walked a bit faster so he was in front. Unknowingly, she matched his pace which Dirk mistakenly took this as a challenge. He took it up a notch and made pushed ahead of her by almost a foot. Kanaya was confused but figured that she was supposed to keep up so she picked up the pace as well.

They ended up running to and unknown destination, alternating between who was in the lead ever couple of seconds, for about ten minutes before Dirk decided to cheat and stick his leg out, making Kanaya trip. She let out a small “eep!” as she started to fall. Dirk wasn’t cruel enough to actually let her hit the hard ground and caught her with one arm. He wrapped it around her waist then pulled her up and let her lean on him.

Both of them were breathing heavily and trying to check out their surroundings. At some point they had left the mall and ran out into the parking lot. At some point they found a patch of grass to sit on while they caught their breath.  
“What was that?” Kanaya asked confused, and slightly giddy from the adrenaline rush. 

“That was a fucking work out.” Dirk dropping down to the ground and staring up at the sky. The sun had just started setting. “Wow, you’ve got some running legs, huh? I’m tempted to make a racist joke about black people being fast, but I don’t think we’ve reached that level in our friendship yet.” Kanaya laughed softly and lay down next to him. She lifted one of her legs into the air. She had decided to wear shorts that day so she had a good view of her dark, toned legs. Dirk whistled, impressed. “Nice.”

“Thank you. I do have a daily routine meant to help me maintain my physique. I’m glad you took notice. I often fear my attempts to beautify myself go in vain.” Dirk chuckled.

“There’s no reason for you to think that. I’ve never really paid particular attention to you, but I’ve heard good things about ‘the fashionista Ms. Kanaya Maryam’.” Kanaya smiled, and looked up at the sky.

 

“Oh? That’s wonderful.” She was quiet for a moment before continuing. “I still feel my efforts are pointless though. The person I want to find me most appealing is not even interested in the members of my sex.” She wasn’t really sure why she was telling him such private information, but it felt like he might be able to understand her situation.

Her hunch was proven correct when Dirk said “I hear ya sister. It sucks monkey balls. That’s all I can say about it. I can’t even be bothered to come up with a witty metaphor about how much shitty it feels not be liked because only because of your gender. Nothing else compares.” Dirk turned on his side and looked at Kanaya. “There was one time when he said he would totally date me if I had a vagina and a nice set of tits. Not in those exact words, but you know what I mean.” Kanaya turned and looked sympathetically at him.

“That’s horrible.” Dirk nodded.

“Not sure why I told you that, but I guess since you are in a similar position there’s no need to be afraid you might mock me, or think I’m weak.”

“I would never think that off you. Especially considering you nearly out ran me during that race.” Dirk cocked an eyebrow and he sat up.

“Excuse me?” He looked down at her, his voice taking on a very sassy tone. “I nearly outran you? You must have been participating in a different competition if you think you even came close to beating me.” Kanaya let out a short, dry laugh.

“If I wasn’t close to beating you, then why did you feel the need to resort to dirty tricks? I think it’s fair to say that had you not cheated that I would have emerged victorious. I’m certain I have a load more stamina than you could ever hope to possess.” Dirk looked her over his shades.

“Your diminutive mind has no way of assimilating even a mere iota of the apperception necessary to fathom the shitstorm of pure competence you have just brought your way. Let’s do this.” He looked around then licked his lips. “Ok, we’re going to run 5 laps around this entire thing. We’ll stay parallel to each other the entire time. Whoever starts falling back first is the loser.” Kanaya stood up and started doing stretches.

“I accept your challenge. Prepare to be astounded.” She said then got ready to run. “Read…set…go.” And they were off.

The two of them moved like lightning. Dirk preformed parkour moves in order to avoid cars while Kanaya just ran around them. A few times Dirk’s parkour was able to get him again of Kanaya, but at other times, when he was just showing off, Kanaya got ahead of him. It was a neck to neck battle that would have gone down in the history books if it wasn’t a petty competition between two teenagers.

Both of their faces were serious and blank as they tried to prove to the other that they were superior. Kanaya didn’t actually care about being better, but she didn’t want to seem weak by backing out now. Dirk just liked having the upper hand.

The wind was rushing through their hair, adrenaline coursing through their veins, and it was great. They weren’t thinking about their crushes, or how they would never be loved back. No, their only thoughts were on each other. They were thinking about being the very best, that no one ever was. To catch the other was their real test, to prove they were more fit was their cause. They ran across the land, dodging cars far and wide. Each foot pushing to understand, who has more power inside?

In the end it turned out it was Dirk. Towards the end of the fifth lap Kanaya felt her muscles straining. She ended up lagging about a foot behind Dirk.

Again they collapsed, in almost the same spot as before. There were no words passed between them, mainly because they were both way too out of breath to even try and talk. Instead they stared at the sky. At some point their hands moved closer to each other, almost touching, but not quite. After a couple minutes Dirk broke the silence. “You’re alright, Kanaya.” He complimented.

“Likewise, Dirk.” Small smiles adorned both of their faces.

After hanging out for another couple hours they decided it was time for them to head home. Kanaya gave Dirk directions to her house, which was apparently on the other side of town. The entire car ride they listened to radio music. Dirk said it was for ‘ironic’ reasons, but Kanaya doubted that the way he was sung along to every song that came on was ironic. When she told him this he dismissed her as being a ‘crazy overanalyzing broad’.

Her grandmother gave her a questioning look when she walked through the front without her best friend by her side. “What happened to Vriska? I expected her to come over for dinner.” She asked looking up from what she was cooking.

“Vriska decided to ignore me in favor of her new boyfriend, so I left her in favor of her boyfriend’s best friend. He’s an enjoyable fellow.” Her Grandmother smiled at her in a way that said ‘You have a crush on him, don’t you?’ Kanaya didn’t acknowledge the look. Her feelings for Dirk were nothing more than platonic. She knew that, so there was no need to get flustered.

She was more focused on her feelings towards Vriska and Jake. She was surprised that referring to Jake as Vriska’s ‘boyfriend’ did not hurt as much as she thought it would. There wasn’t even a twinge of pain in her heart; just the normal drawn out aching that was familiar to her. There were no tears welling in her eyes, no sudden clenches in her heart. Kanaya speculated that maybe it was because she knew she had someone to share the pain with.

¬_

The next day Kanaya realized Dirk was in her first class, Home Ec. She was surprised she never noticed him before, that kind of hair was hard to miss. She tried to decide between sitting in her normal seat or next to him. It looked like he was alone, so she took a chance.

“Hello Dirk. I had no idea we shared this class.” He looked up from a red thing in his hand.

“Oh, hello Kanaya.” He said nodding his head in greeting. “I never noticed you either. It is strange how after being properly introduced to someone you start to noticing them all the fuck over the place. Like, when you learn a new word and you think, “Huh, I’ve never heard that before.” Next thing you know you find it plastered to a billboard you pass by everyday to work, true story. In fact, now that I think about it, I’ve actually heard a lot about you before. I’m only now connecting the dots.” Kanaya blinked in surprise.

“Who exactly is it that gossips about me with you? This is the second time you’ve mentioned me being a common topic of conversation.” He put the red thing down for a moment. Kanaya glanced at it, but retracted her eyes a second later. It was a suggestive looking puppet. She didn’t want to know anymore.

“Do you know Rose Lalonde?” Kanaya nodded. “She’s my cousin. We’re pretty tight. You’re one of her favorite people to talk about. You and that John dude she’s dating.” He leaned in close and talked a bit softer. “If you ask me, I’d say he must of missed a few pages in the “How not to be an asshole” manual. The dude called me a creepy weirdo version of Dave.” Kanaya smirked a bit.

“Just because he hurt your extremely delicate Strider feelings by not automatically bowing down and kissing your feet, does not give you the right to call him a asshole. You are somewhat of a dick yourself. Also, do not think I am defending John. Trust me. I don’t hold him in favor either. I just think you are being unfair.”

“I am not being unfair. John was being a little prick.” He said. The way his voice took on a whining tone made Kanaya giggle. He sounded like a five year old on the play ground that got called stupid. “Rose didn’t even do anything. She just stood there and laughed. I was left to fend for myself, so you know how I responded?” He asked.

“No, how did you respond?”

“Like this.” Then he took her wrist and gripped it. His face was tense and he was so close she could see the outline of his eyes through the tinted shades. “What the fuck did you just say about me, you little bitch? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals. I’ve been in numerous secret raids Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 hundred confirmed kills. I am trained in guerilla warfare and I’m the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but another target. I’ll wipe you the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my fuckin’ words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me? Think again.” Kanaya’s eyes were wide with fear and confusion. Then Dirk let her go and cracked a smile.

“Yeah, he had the same reaction.” Then he shook his head. “It’s such a damn shame how kids like you don’t know nothin’ about important shit like memes.” Kanaya crinkled her eyebrow.

“Memes?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You don’t know what memes are?” Kanaya shook her head. Dirk sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You’ve got a lot to learn, Ms. Maryam, but fear not, for I, Dirk Strider, am the best possible teacher you could ever have. Don’t worry, after one class period with me, you’ll be a master.” The teacher was a complete pushover, so he didn’t say anything as Dirk pulled out his phone and began teaching Kanaya the ways of the internet.

Instead of learning about how to sew a button on a jacket, which she already knew how to do, she learned about rage comics, /b/, and a penguin that was socially awkward. She didn’t find the rage comics very funny, she was disturbed by /b/ (then told never to talk about it) but she laughed at the socially awkward penguin. “It’s funny because I can relate to the thing he is saying.” She said. Dirk smiled for a second.

“That’s kind of the point.”

During their next class they had a sub so Dirk sat with Kanaya and Rose. They accidently turned Rose into kind of a third wheel, but she didn’t mind at all. Watching them interact was fun. There was a moment when Dirk had to go to the bathroom, giving Rose alone time to confront her about it.

“So, you and Dirk are good friends now.” She started looking sly. “I can’t believe I ever doubted the development of your crush on him.” Kanaya rolled her eyes.

“Rose, please. I found that we have a lot in common, including school classes and distaste for your boyfriend.” Rose laughed.

“Did he tell you the story of him and John’s first meeting? I wish I had a camera with me for the occasion, his face was priceless. Then he started quoting the internet,” Rose snickered at the memory. “Dear god, I completely lost it.” They spent the entire time Dirk was gone talking about him. When he came back they both stared and tried to hold back their laughter.

“A dude can’t leave to take a piss without a couple of chicks deciding to turn into gossips. And here I was thinking at least Rose could resist the natural girl predisposition that involves talking about someone the second they leave the room. I guess I was wrong. You’ve let me down Rose. How could you.” He sat down in his chair and looked at them. “So…what were you talking about?” he asked, sounding like he didn’t actually care, which he probably didn’t.

“Oh nothing.” Rose said after winking at Kanaya. “We were just discussing the way woman fawn over you, begging for a piece of that “hot Strider ass”.” Dirk nodded approvingly.

“Damn right they do.” Then the topic of Kanaya having a crush on Dirk wasn’t brought to her attention for another two months.

During those months Kanaya and Dirk grew to be inseparable (‘coincidently’ so did their respective ‘best friends’). They never really talked about their crushes, but occasionally they would drop hints, or offhandedly mention how they never saw them anymore. It hurt more than either of them was willing to admit. Before they knew it, they had become best friends (and Jake and Vriska could barely even be considered their friends). Nights were spent at each other’s houses (sometimes Kanaya would climb in bed with Dirk and cry on his chest). During lunch they sat next to each other with their group of friends (they made sure to avoid whoever Jake and Vriska were hanging out with). After school they usually spent time at the sewing club (Kanaya tried not to think about how she used sew Vriska clothes) or sometimes Dirk would teach Kanaya how to fight with one of his katana (Dirk tried not to think about how he used to give Jake lessons with his weapons).

They weren’t replacements for their past best friends though. No it was not like that at all. Their feelings regarding their past best friends were just an elephant in the room neither wanted to deal with. Until one day when Vriska called her for the first time in almost three weeks.

She had been sitting on her bed, reading a new horror novel she got, when next to her she heard her phone go off. She automatically assumed it was Dirk, calling to verify their movie plans, so she picked up without checking to see who it was.

Before she could get a word out Vriska’s voice was blasting into her ear. “Hey Kanaya! It’s been a while, huh?” She started out sounding excited. Kanaya felt her heart thump, with pain and hope, mixed up in a garbled stew of feelings. She didn’t know how to feel about Vriska calling.

“Yes, it’s been quite some time since we last spoke, hasn’t it? I feel as though almost a decade passed since I last had the pleasure of hearing your voice over the phone. Let alone having what could qualify as a decent conversation while the two of us are in the same vicinity. I can hardly remember the last time the two of us were together. How strange that we have been so apt at eluding each other in such a coincidental and totally not purposeful way. Um, how are you?” Vriska laughed at her rambling. Kanaya tried to keep her voice even, but her over talkativeness probably gave her away.

“Me and Jake have been awesome!! Thanks for asking. And guess what I plan on doing to him tonight.” She felt her heart fall and shatter into a million pieces.

“You aren’t planning on giving him your virginity are you?” she hiss/whispered. Vriska sputtered on the other end.

“Oh my god, no! It’s been, like, 2 months! No! Fuck no! I don’t know what you and your boyfriend have been doing, but I’m not that kind of girl.”

“My boyfriend?” she asked, confused.

“Uh, yeah. To be honest, I used to think you were a complete lesbian, but then I saw you and Dirk flirting. I know your game Maryam, and I’ve heard those rumors about you, which I’m sure aren’t true bu-“ Kanaya interrupted her with a burst of laughter. “What?”

“Vriska, you’re so…so…” tears were welling up in her eyes. God, she just could not take it anymore. Vriska could see chemistry between her and Dirk, who she had known for two months, but she couldn’t pick up on the hints she had been throwing for years? Really? Why did she keep clinging to this stupid crush? Why? All it did was hurt her, and hurt her, and hurt her, while Vriska was happily dating a guy she really liked. “I have to go.” She muttered ignoring the call of wait before ending the call. She was fed up. And she needed Dirk. The phone only rang two times before he answered.

“Yo. ‘Sup Kanaynay?” just hearing his voice helped put her broken heart back together. She was so used to depending on him whenever she felt bad, just being near him had a healing factor. She took in a shuddering breath.

“Dirk, it is of the upmost importance that you arrive at my abode within some reasonable length of time, which could be considered soon by a majority of people. I am in dire need of your immediate assistance and…” The entire time she hurried out her words, hoping her voice wouldn’t crack. At the very end she could feel dry sobs starting to come through. There was shuffling in the background.

“Alright, alright, don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’ll drive in the most cursory manner possible. Even if it means making some illegal turn, and short cuts.”

“Try not to get arrested on your way here.”

“No promises.”

“Of course not. Ok, good bye then.” She said, smiling a little.

“Bye.” She hung up then fell back on her bed.

True to his word, Dirk was there in about 15 minutes. Normally it took at least 30 to get from his house to hers. He walked in through the door without knocking, Kanaya’s grandmother was used to him so it she didn’t say anything, and then went into Kanaya’s room and wrapped his arms around her. “What happened?” Kanaya lay back against him.

“I think I’ve finally given up, Dirk. I think I am finally over her. I don’t mean to say I no longer have feelings for her, but at last I’m able to cut that thing string of hope that she might one day love me the same way I love her. It hurts, but I think after I get over the immediate pain that I’m going to feel so free.” Dirk petted her head, smoothing her hair back. Kanaya closed her eyes and snuggled into his chest.

“Maybe I should do that too. Give up on Jake, I mean. I thought that through a compound of elaborate schemes I could subconsciously convince him I am a better match than any other, but so far that has failed to work out. In fact we’ve only grown further apart. Yesterday we had a rather embarrassing altercation that revolved around the topic of us not spending enough time together.” Kanaya opened her eyes and looked up at him.

“Really? This is the first I’m hearing of it.” Dirk nodded and knocked his head back against her head board.

“Yeah. It was nothing serious but I think we both need some time away from them to let bitter feelings die down. And not the kind of time away that we’ve been having, I mean real time away. Like a vacation.” Then he smirked. “Isn’t spring break coming up? We should go somewhere, just you and me.” Kanaya shifted around so that her head was under his chin.

“You’re ridiculous Dirk. Did you know that? Where are you planning to whisk me off too on such short notice?” Dirk shrugged.

“Dunno. My Bro is pretty loaded, and kind of odd, so he probably wouldn’t care if I took some of his money and just left. We can take my car and everything.” Dirk was quiet for a moment. “Let’s go to Disney World.”

“What.” Kanaya sat up and looked him straight in the face. Dirk stared back, his face equally blank.

“Yes. Hell yes. Hell fucking yes. We are going to Disney World.” Kanaya was about to object but then Dirk put a finger over her lips. “Nope. You are not allowed to object. We are going to Disney World.” Then the corner of his lip turned up. “We’re doing this man. We’re making this happen!” Kanaya sighed and lay back down. She knew he would get his way, so she decided to just go along with it.

“Ok. Why not? I’ll see what money I can acquire before spring break, and you see what your brother will allow you to take then we will put it together.”

At some point Kanaya’s Grandmother brought them dinner. They decided it was better to ask her sooner than later. She was surprisingly ok with the idea. Apparently in her childhood she and a group of her friends had traveled across America as part of the civil rights movement. Her mother had been unsupportive which only resulted in her running away. She was sure Kanaya could handle herself so she had no objections to them running off, so long as Kanaya remembered to call. She promised to get Kanaya a debit card, and also give her some pocket money. Dirk and Kanaya couldn’t stop thanking her.

They stayed up until 1 in the morning searching the web for how exactly to plan out a road trip. Dirk had been on one before but it had been a while so he needed to refresh his memory. They alternated between writing down notes and making a To Do list. They decided not to tell anyone about their plans, except for their parents of course. The last thing they wanted was more rumors being spread around school, and questions about the nature of their relationship.

At school they started speaking in whispers, and whenever someone would come close to them they’d clam up. All of their friends got suspicious, but there was nothing anyone could do to make them talk. They would play innocent perfectly then fist bump behind their backs. Not even Rose could figure out what their plans were. It irritated her to no end.

Spring break was getting closer, and everyone started talking about their plans. Two days before the holiday Rose confronted Kanaya about it while Dirk was at the bathroom. Kanaya was smart, but she wasn’t good at coming up with believable excuses at a moment’s notice.

“I have not really decided how exactly I plan on spending my time during spring break, which is strange because normally if there was something particularly marvelous that I wanted to do while on vacation I would start planning weeks before. And of course I would alert all my close friends in the most expeditious way possible. There is no way that the information would be able to escape your highly capable mind, which has so often figured out things I’d rather you not know. That fact is indubitably and, if you don’t mind me saying, unfortunately true to such an extent that-“

“Kanaya.” Rose smirked pressing a finger to her lips. “You’re lying, and with each word you speak it only becomes more apparent. I suggest stopping now and saving yourself embarrassment.” Kanaya felt her face heat up. She looked up sheepishly at Dirk when he walked in. Her entire body screamed ‘I might have just given us up’ but Dirk ignored her promptly. Instead he looked questionably at Rose, who was looking smugly back.

“Hello. Is there any reason that you are tarnishing Ms. Maryam’s sweet, virgin lips with your revolting, bawdy finger? Who knows where that thing has been. You shouldn’t take this kind of assault sitting down, Kanaya.” He chastised. Kanaya shrugged. Rose took her finger away. And there was an awkward silence.

“We’re driving to Disney World.” Kanaya blurted out.

Dirk sighed and placed a hand to his forehead. “What?” Rose asked, confused.

“Me and Dirk have decided to get away from everyone and take a road trip down to Disney World, stopping only for bathroom breaks and food.”

“Are you serious?” she directed the question at Dirk. He nodded.

“But you can’t tell anyone, got it? No one is allowed to know.” Rose nodded solemnly.

“Ok. May I ask why the secrecy?”

“It’s more fun that way. Two teenagers running away, with the consent of their parents of course don’t look at me like that. We’ll be leaving behind our old town, friends, and family. If no one knows that makes it seem more extemporaneous. All the planning is ruining the mood. We can’t have people talking about it too. So try to keep your yapper shut.” Rose moved her hand across her lips, zipping them shut, then locked it closed and threw away the key. “Good girl.”

For the rest of their time in school Dirk and Kanaya didn’t bring up the road trip again, but outside of the school’s walls it was all they could talk about. Neither of them wanted anything to go wrong. It would suck to waste their whole vacation time without money, or lost on their way to Disney World.

On the last day Dirk skipped school to make sure his car was in top shape, and that they had all they would need. When school let out he was waiting for Kanaya in his hot red car. She hadn’t bothered taking her book bag to school that day so she just jumped in the car and they road off. Dirk zipped away as fast as he could, getting out before anyone else. When Kanaya said maybe he should slow down, he claimed that he needed to take advantage of the lack of traffic.

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.” Kanaya said when they got stuck in traffic. “I know it’s your policy to always follow through once you’ve contrived an idea, but I still am struck with this surreal feeling of wow we are driving down to Orlando, Florida. It’s amazing.” Then she smiled at Dirk. “Thank you Dirk, for everything.” He kept his eyes on the road, but smiled as well.

“No need to thank me, I’m doing this for myself too.” A little while later Kanaya fell asleep.

When she woke up it was 7:46. She stretched her arms then looked over at Dirk. He was in the exact same position as when she fell asleep. She nudged him with her elbow. He didn’t flinch. “Hmm?” Was the only way he acknowledged her.

“Do you need a break? I don’t mind driving if you would like a sometime to sleep.” He shook his head.

“No, I’m fine.” He said. Silence. He seemed so concentrated Kanaya didn’t want to say anything. Then there was the grumble of a stomach. Kanaya thought it was hers, but judging by the way Dirk’s cheeks dusted with pink it could have been his as well. “Uh, want to stop by the next fast food place we see?” Kanaya was wary about fast food, he was used to home cooked meals every day, but agreed anyway.

They ate in a fairly populated Mc Donald’s. Kanaya was surprised by how much she enjoyed the food. When she told Dirk it was her very first time he looked almost offended and promised to give her a much healthy diet of junk food and soda. She couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not.

By the time they got back on the road it was 8:30. The mood was much lighter now. They talked and joked and made fun of the stuff that was on the radio. Until it started getting really late.

“Isn’t it illegal for minors to drive at night in some places?” Kanaya piped up when she saw that they passed a cop car. Dirk was a good driver, but sometimes he got a little ridiculous and show-offy, especially on an open road. “I’d rather we not get arrested the first day on the road. I think now would be a good time to make use of your astute abilities and realize that in this situation it would be a good idea for us to stop somewhere. You could finally rest for a few hours. You have yet to get a wink of sleep. Such depravity can’t be good for your health.”

“Actually, I normally don’t sleep for 3 or 4 days, if I can help it. I’ve got to much important shit to do and not enough time to waste it lying still for 6 hours a night. Not to mention it ruins my hair.” He said taking a hand of the wheel to smooth it back. Kanaya rolled her eyes.

“Dirk, pullover.”

“No.”

“If you don’t pull over I’ll…” Dirk snorted derisively. 

“You’ll what?” a light bulb clicked in Kanaya’s head. 

“If you don’t pull over I’ll tear up that new outfit I customized for Lil Cal exclusively for this trip to Disney.” She said with a smirk. Dirk gasped dramatically taking his eyes off the road for a second to look incredulously at Kanaya.

“You wouldn’t dare.” Kanaya’s smirk widened.

“Try me.” As much as Dirk hated admitting defeat, he loved the outfit for Lil Cal even more. Begrudgingly he agreed to find a place for them to park and sleep for the night.

Eventually Dirk decided to park in back of a store. There were already a couple cars there so they wouldn’t stand out too much.

After a few minutes, when they couldn’t fall asleep the teens decided to get out of the car and go for a little walk. While they were walking their hands found each other and intertwined. It wasn’t the first time they held hands, but the situation was a lot more intimate than usual.

While they bathed in moonlight Kanaya found herself thinking about their relationship. Before she had been sure that her feelings were nothing but platonic, and had no chance of turning into anything else but now she wasn’t so sure. She never realized it but her dedication to Vriska had actually been preventing her from emotionally reaching out to anyone else in such a way. Dirk helped her get over that though. Dirk helped teach her that she didn’t need Vriska to be happy.

Her green eyes turned towards him and she noticed he looked beautiful. Soft, but angular features. Toned muscles barely concealed by a black wife-beater. Narrow hips clad in dark skinny jeans. She was the same hight as him, and she knew if he took of his dark shades that she would see amber eyes staring back her. She tried to imagine herself dating Dirk, being his girlfriend and kissing him on his pale pink lips that rarely smiled. Then she realized she had started smiling.

“What are you smiling about?” Dirk asked. Kanaya felt her face heat up.

“I was remembering something Vriska mentioned the last time I talked to her.” Dirk frowned and stopped walking. They were standing at the edge of a forest, not too far from the building Dirk’s car was behind.

“Didn’t that bitch make you cry in your last conversation? Why are you smiling? Don’t tell me you’ve turned into some sort of emotional masochist. I’m not sure I could handle that kind of baggage. We’ll have to break up.” He said with a straight face.

Kanaya sighed and lifted up their hands. “No, I did not suddenly discover a long hidden affinity for emotional abuse. The thing that made me cry was the fact that she could see chemistry between me and you, despite hardly ever being around the two of us, but she could sense nothing between me and herself. At that time I was overcome with despair for all the time I wasted pining over her. But now I an thinking over my relationship with you. I realized she was right about us having chemistry, on my end at least. I thought about us in a relationship and I realized I might quite like that idea.” When Kanaya saw the way he was looking at her she realized what she had just said. She turned away and apologies started spilling from her lips. “Oh god, why did I tell you that? Now the entire trip has been ruined because of me I’m so sorry, feel free to completely ignore what I just told you and“ Dirk put his hands on her cheeks and smushed them together to stop her talking. Then he turned her head so she was facing him again.

“Kanaya. Shut up.” She nodded. Once he was sure she wouldn’t start rambling again he pushed his shades to the top of his head so he could look her in the eye. His cheeks were light pink and his hands were trembling slightly. He licked his lips and then pressed them against hers.

At first Kanaya wasn’t sure how to feel. Shocked, amazed, giddy, nervous. But after a few seconds it all melted away. Her eyelids slid down slowly until they were completely closed. She pressed her lips back against his. Dirk’s hands slid from her cheeks to her short hair. He ran his fingers through it, massaging her scalp.

Her lips against his felt so great. Much better then when she kissed Aradia or Rose. They only kissed for half minute before they pulled away, breathing hard. They looked into each other’s eyes and there was so much love. Not the bad, painful kind of love that they used to feeling when they were with Vriska and Jake. No, this was the good kind of love. The kind you want to hold in your hand and have forever.

No words were needed. That kiss said everything. Kanaya wrapped her arms around Dirk’s neck, and Dirk put his hands on her waist. Bright in the sky the moon shined. It reminded Dirk of a song, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment by making a pop culture reference. Dirk suddenly got an idea.

“Do you know how to waltz?” he asked.

Kanaya was taken aback by the random question but answered anyway. “I’m not terribly good at it but I’ve taken a class or two before.”  
“Play along.” Dirk murmured next to her ear then backed away. He got down on one knee and took her hand. He looked up into her Jade green eyes while he kissed her gently on the wrist.

“May I have this dance, milady?” He asked batting his eye lashes. Kanaya smiled back down at him.

“Yes, you may.” He stood up then placed his hand on the bottom of her left shoulder blade and guided her left arm to rest over his right. With his left hand he fiddled with his glasses and then Waltz by Johannes Brahms started playing.

Dirk started them off with a basic box step. His left foot stepped forward, her right foot stepped back. They took a step to the side with the other foot then brought the two feet back together again. Kanaya’s right food step forward, Dirk’s left stepped back. They took a step to the side with the opposite foot then brought the pair together again. They continued doing this for the first 30 seconds, trying to get a feel for the tempo and each other.

Soon they were naturally adding more flourish to the dance. They began to slowly turn, and travel around the parking lot. Dirk even had the courage to spin her around and give her a small dip before falling back in time with the song.

When the song ended Dirk put on another one. They resumed dancing without missing a beat. The two teens waltzed across the parking lot, pressed closer together then they should have been. Giant smiles were plastered across their faces.

For almost 45 minutes they did nothing but twirl around dancing to various waltz songs. But eventually they got tired went back to the car. In a few minutes they fell asleep while wrapped in each other’s arms.

_ 

At 8 in the morning Kanaya woke up to find that had started driving again. She stretched out across the back of his car, yawning. “Good morning sleeping beauty.” Dirk greeted. Kanaya smiled and pecked him on the cheek.

“Good morning to you to. How long have you been driving?” She asked as she climbed into the passenger seat.

“Only about an hour.” He responded. Kanaya settled into her seat. She had expected it to be kind of awkward, but actually she felt even more comfortable than ever before.

After another hour of driving and comfortable silence Dirk’s stomach grumbled. “I guess it’s time for breakfast.” He mumbled then a sign caught his eye. “Kanaya, we’re going to Cracker Barrel.” Suddenly he swerved over so he wouldn’t miss the exit.

“What? We’re going where?” She asked confused by his sudden disregard of safety. Dirk didn’t answer her. He was too concentrated on making sure they found the delicious restaurant. It had been far too long since he last had their pancakes.

Within 20 minutes he had found the place. It was crowded, but Dirk didn’t mind waiting for a little while. Kanaya decided that if it was really that important that she wouldn’t mind either.

While they were in line Dirk’s arm snuck its way around Kanaya’s waist. She rested her head on his shoulder. It was nice. Really nice. She was so glad she told him. It briefly crossed her mind that maybe if she had been honest with Vriska that she could have gotten this with her instead.

She thought about having Vriska wrap her arm around her, kissing her, waltzing with her, and…she still kind of wished she could do it. For example, if Dirk could suddenly be with Jake, and Vriska suddenly decided she didn’t want to be with Jake anymore and it was all mutual then she would go along with it, probably. Maybe. That ache of longing still thumped every now and then when she thought about Vriska but it was much less painful than before. If anything it was just something she had grown used to.

Dirk did all the talking, gently guiding Kanaya to her seat. He didn’t want to interrupt her inner reflection. He had done the same thing when he woke up and started driving.

It wasn’t until the waiter came to take their orders that she returned to reality. “Oh. I’ll have some orange juice.” She said.

“Coffe.” Was all Dirk ordered. When the person left he turned to Kanaya. They needed to have a talk about their relationship. “So…we’re dating now?” Kanaya smiled.

“Yes. Do I have your permission to refer to you as my boyfriend?”

“Only if I’m allowed to call you my girlfriend.”

“You’re allowed.”

“Then I guess that’s settled.” And they kissed.

_

The rest of the trip went by without a hitch. After being nauseatingly sweet and couple-y at breakfast they spent the rest of the day driving to Orlando. At 4 they checked into their hotel (It was a nice one Bro had reserved for them himself), called their respective guardians, unpacked, ate dinner then slept in their one bed, cuddling all night.

The next four days were spent almost entirely at Disney. It was their goal to get on every ride in the park, even the lame ones. They had a map and everything. Whenever they finished a ride they crossed it out. Unfortunately they were unable to get on every ride. This may or may not have been due to the fact that they sometimes stopped to make out in a secluded corner of the park for an hour. It was especially bad on water park day.

By the time they were left they were both covered in hickies.

You would think at this point that they’d be sick of kissing, but even while they were driving home they had to pull over a few times so they could kiss. It was a nice day; they figured it would be better spent outside. Dirk ended up with a horrible sunburn and cracked, achy lips from nonstop kissing Kanaya.

They didn’t get home until Saturday evening.

Dirk called is bro and told him he was too tired to stay home and was going to stay with his girlfriend. To which Bro responded. “Whoah, what? You and Kanaya are dating? I thought you two were both gay! There’s no way in hell I’d let you two kids go on a little adventure down the east coast without condoms if I had known. Fuck man.” Dirk laughed and explained the situation. Bro reluctantly agreed to let him stay but promised that next time he wasn’t going to get off so easy. “Also, make sure you pull out.” Dirk hung up.

The couple fell asleep in Kanaya’s bed directly after dinner.

On Sunday they helped each other unpack. Kanaya did most of the unpacking thought, because Dirk was too sun burnt to move without hurting. He lay on his bed, whining about how his lips hurt and how it wasn’t fair Kanaya was seemed unaffected. She told him it was his own fault for refusing to borrow her lip balm and claiming that he would be fine without sunscreen.

That night for the first time in a week had to sleep in separate beds, not that Dirk slept anyway.

At school, the second they got out of Dirk’s car they were surrounded by friends. Jake pulled Dirk into a one armed hug, while Vriska jumped on Kanaya’s back. They were inevitably ripped apart by their respective group of friends.

“Where have you been?” Vriska asked grabbing her neck and shaking her. Kanaya tried to rip her hands off, to no avail. Karkat, Eridan, Sollux, and Tavros were standing by not even trying to help.

“Answer the fucking question you carpet munching pile of whale excrement! You can’t just leave for a week then come back and expect not to be attacked by the friends you decided to abandon.”

“Yeah, Kan. That’s fuckin’ ridiculous if you think we’re goin’ to just let you of a the hook.” Kanaya tried to choke out something, but no one could understand her.

“What wath that KN?” 

“Maybe you should, uh, loosen your grip, Vriska.”

“I said,” she started ripping Vriska off and throwing her to the ground. “That I went to Disney World with my boyfriend.” All of her friends exclaimed what in unison. Next to them Dirk’s group freaked out in a similar fashion.

The next 5 minutes consisted of everyone saying what basically consisted to “But I thought you were gay!” Vriska on the other hand was screaming “I knew it!” at the top of her lungs. Eventually the crowds melded into one, and Dirk wrapped his arm around Kanaya’s waist.

“Labeling your sexuality is for losers.” Dirk said, and then gave Kanaya a big kiss on the lips. Both of them had never felt more in love.

**Author's Note:**

> You are a lovely human being for reading this. *kisses ur face* I hope you find a dollar on the ground.


End file.
